Nepal Satellite to re-launch Hello Nepal

Nepal Satellite Telecom, in which TeliaSonera, a leading European telecommunication company and the major shareholder of Ncell in Nepal, recently acquired the majority ownership, today announced that it is planning to re-launch its Hello Nepal brand.

The plan is for Hello Nepal to continue as a cost effective brand offering the simplest services to meet the communication needs of the people, especially in the rural areas of Nepal.

"Nepal Satellite will benefit from having become part of the TeliaSonera Group which has over a hundred years of history and experience in telecommunications and a strong commitment to a long-term investment in Nepal," said chairman of Board of Directors at Nepal Satellite Telecom Mats Salomonsson.

With TeliaSonera’s support, Nepal Satellite has started planning the course of its further work and investments in Nepal, he said. "For operational and environmental efficiency, we are considering sharing Nepal Satellite’s base stations with Ncell, wherever possible, as both companies operate in the same GSM standard," said Salomonsson, adding that the company will communicate its plans in detail as soon as it receives the necessary approvals from Nepal Telecommunications Authority.

It is not the first time that TeliaSonera will have two different mobile brands in the same market. In the Nordic and Baltic countries, TeliaSonera offers a wide range of telecom services under its major brands, like Telia in Sweden, NetCom in Norway, EMT in Estonia, etc, and the so called 'no frills' services under cost effective brands, such as Halebop in Sweden, Chess in Norway, Diil in Estonia, and others.

“As regards possible network sharing between the two companies, I would like to assure our customers that, if this happens, it will not affect the quality of their communication in any negative way,” said Salomonsson.